Letter from Leadership
Junior Achievement’s core purpose is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. The key words in this statement are simple: “inspire,” “prepare,” and “succeed.”
Our recent economic struggles have pointed out significant gaps in student readiness for the adult world. Whether it’s a lack of understanding of how to balance a checkbook, or the connection between an education today and future earning power tomorrow, all students need to learn that success awaits them – with an education, hard work, and just a little bit of luck.
Junior Achievement of Dallas’ local vision is to focus our program implementation on ultimately assuring that every child in our operating territory has an opportunity to work with a JA volunteer every year of their formal education – from kindergarten through high school. Today we are focused on carrying out that vision in our most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Each year more than 3,000 volunteers – mostly from the business community – take time to “inspire” some of our community’s most economically disadvantaged kids. These are the kids who most need to understand there is a world that sees them as smart and capable. The world needs to understand that these are the kids who are our future.
Those 3,000 volunteers work with more than 2,000 teachers to assure these same students are “prepared” for the world beyond the classroom. So many of our students have never been outside their neighborhood; never traveled more than five or six miles from home. These students must be prepared to understand they are competing for jobs with kids from around the world, not kids from around the corner.
During the 2010-11 school year, Junior Achievement of Dallas, along with more than 3,000 volunteers and 2,000 classroom teachers helped 38,000 students build the skills they will need to “succeed” in the future.
Each child’s definition of personal success will be different. If a child has the opportunity to work with a dozen JA volunteers from a dozen different jobs – that child’s potential for success has just expanded at least twelve-fold.
You can be part of that definition of success. For more details on how you or your organization can make an even more meaningful difference in the lives of young people, please call JA’s office at (972) 690-8484. We hope you will explore the “volunteer” and “support JA” sections of our website.. You may also connect with us by visiting JA of Dallas via social media on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or LinkedIn.
Dave Swiney
Chairman, JA Dallas Board of Directors